Apple sells 1.7 million iPhone 4s in three days

Despite a range of well publicized hardware problems, including yellow areas on screens, poor antenna design and an overly fragile shell, Apple moved a whopping 1.7 million units of the new iPhone 4 in just three days after its launch on June 24.

“This is the most successful product launch in Apple’s history,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Even so, we apologize to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply.”

... and it's only available in a handful of countries so far. With over 50 million iDevices already in the wild, and each hardware refresh bringing a tidal wave of buzz and new customers, rival smartphone platforms like Google's Android will have an increasingly difficult time enticing developers away from Apple's ecosystem.